On 15 November 2022 the Government introduced two of the three Bills intended to replace and repeal the Resource Management Act 1991: the Natural and Built Environment Bill and the Spatial Planning Bill.

Much of the content has been foreshadowed for a while now. Previously anticipated changes include requiring early and integrated regional spatial planning, replacing New Zealand's circa 112 planning rulebooks with 15 mega-plans (with increased Central Government influence) and 'streamlining' of the resource consenting process. This provides plenty to reflect on but the Natural and Built Environment Bill, in particular, brings many unanticipated and less publicised changes, including:

Allocation
For the last 31 years, RMA plans and consenting decisions have been responsible for allocating rights to use natural resources - including using geothermal resources, water, coastal space and discharging to water, coastal water and air. In the absence of an allocation framework under the RMA, the default method has been "first-in, first-served". In many cases this has led to poor outcomes, with resources being allocated inefficiently or inequitably.

The Bill empowers (but does not require) Central Government or Regional Planning Committees to make rules establishing allocation methods for resources, so this inefficient and inequitable allocation might be addressed in the future. For resources other than taking, diverting or using freshwater, this includes market-based allocation methods such as auction or tendering.

Polluter pays and prosecution
The Bill fundamentally reforms the approach to contamination of land. It proposes to enact the "polluter pays principle" and imposes new obligations on landowners to actively manage land used for high-risk activities - which includes reporting on and actively managing contamination. District councils, regional councils and the Environmental Protection have greater powers and responsibilities in relation to contaminated land. This includes the power to recover all actual and reasonable costs from the polluter.

There are also other substantial changes to enforcement powers, beyond contamination of land. Maximum fines for non-compliance are set to increase from $300,000 to $1,000,000 for individuals and from $600,000 to $10,000,000 for companies. The Bill would prohibit individuals and companies insuring against such fines. In line with other modern statutory liability regimes, environmental harm could not be insured as a "cost of doing business".

Extinguishing existing use rights
The Bill empowers Central Government or Regional Planning Committees to extinguish existing use rights by creating rules that relate to the "natural environment", natural hazards, climate change or contaminated land. These new powers could be used to drive land use change, where not previously available under the RMA.

The path to reform
Both Bills will be subject to the standard 6 month Select Committee process, which means submissions are likely to be due early in the New Year and the Select Committee report released around the middle of the year.

The issues covered in this note are just the tip of the iceberg. While some changes will be broad stroke, others will have specific application depending on nature of your organisation or business. Our specialist environment and planning team is available to advise - both on the RMA reform process and how it will apply to you, specifically.